Use Wubi to learn Linux

As a huge proponent of learning new widely used technologies, I have been telling students who work with Internet technologies to learn Linux because 99% of all new web servers coming online are on Linux servers. Workplaces, especially small companies, often use linux file servers to avoid the huge licensing costs associated with Server 2007.

Now there is an easy way for beginners to install Linux on a second hard drive and play with the Ubuntu version of the Linux Hardy Heron kernel. If these terms sound like a foreign language to you, then this post is something you need. Wubi is a simple linux installer program that you can run straight from Windows. It will set up linux on the hard drive of your choice, make a boot loader and generally configure some of the more geeky settings. There are many different versions of linux and Ubuntu is one of the most popular. Check out the Ubuntu installation guide at seo.gadget and begin to learn!

Use Acrobat.com as a meeting place

Adobe's new AIR/Flash platform is ripe for application development and they are showcasing the possibilities with the latest in web 2.0 cloud computing. Acrobat.com is a powerful little conferencing application that provides for three vital functions:

1. You can make PDFs online and share them with anyone using an email address.
2. It contains a full-featured web meeting application complete with easy to use white board, web cam conferencing and telephone call-in numbers for voice only conferencing.
3. A free word processor, Buzzword, also is available for generating quick documents on the fly. You can also export them to your favorite format and save them on your local disk which is convenient for the jump drive enthusiasts.
   

Though, I love google docs/apps too, this user interface is simple, sleek and efficent in delivering the goods, all for free! Try it out and move into the sphere of cloud computing.

Get out of Debt - Part 2

Though I've posted a number of finance tips in the past, recent research has turned up a host of how-to financial sites that I wish I had known about as a college student. If you are a financial wizard and understand amortization calculation, debt to income ratios and FICO scores, then the sites below are on a beginner level. However, if these terms are new to you, then the following sites are a godsend for learning about debt, money mangement, and methods of moving toward a debt-free existence.

Learning the ropes of finance 101: everything you wish someone had told you earlier...

About Debt:

1. Debt to loan Ratios the basics: http://ezinearticles.com/?Debt-To-Income-Ratio---A-Critical-Factor-In-Your-Credit-Score&id=806220
2. Debt to income ratios - part 2 from Buzzle.com
3. The Motley Fool provides a wonderful free guide and workbook for getting out of debt; this site alone is a great first step toward financial solvency.
4. Finally if you are in debt, Dave Ramsey presents an interesting take on the psychology of debt reduction with his debt snowball site.
   
5. Buzzle.com has a nice debt reduction resource list. It's a great place to survey the range of considerations necessary to make a serious go at debt.
6. The Federal Trade Commission has tons of information about credit repair, debt management, financial counseling,
   

Learn about loans and interest by playing with the amortization calculator.

Finally, the following blogs are written by people who've wrestled with debt and survived. They teach money management skills, provide goos links and provide a nice place to learn about budgeting, financial investing and resources for tracking your cash.

1. The Get Rich Slowly blog is a nice place to learn about day-to-day management issues that are critical for financial success. The tone is friendly and the posters are real folks, not account managers or sleazy "credit counselors" trolling for clients.
   
2. Ramit Sethi's I will teach you to be rich blog is valuable because it also covers business building techniques.
3. Mint Money Management free software might do the trick if you're looking for an all-in-one stop shop for organizing your finances. As always, verify that privacy concerns are respected and this could be a great tool.

So that's it, a fairly comprehensive get started set of finance tools.

Enjoy!
phree

Adobe AIR apps worth a look!

Below are two sites that feature cool Adobe AIR applications that take care of small tasks we often farm out to larger pieces of RAM hogging software. The applications run on the adobe AIR runtime platform which you can download for free here. Better yet, most of the applications are free too which means wonderful interfaces, open source design and responsiveness to user requests.

1. The first site is from Mashable and they featured a top 10 list.
2. The second site, Fresh AIR Apps, provides a stream of new tools, most of which are useful utilities you wish you had invented.

As always, feedback on these tools is appreciated.
later,
phree

Keep focused while working...

It is easy to get distracted and not get the most out of time set aside for work. Thus, in the spirit of fostering productivity, this post from Zen Habits provides numerous tips for keeping work time focused on must-do tasks. These tips fall into the "don't waste time and prioritize" categories. Though most seem like common sense, there are a few gems worth noticing:

1. Take more breaks,
2. Plan you day with details, and
3. Notice your lazy routines to name a few.

Klok is a cool Adobe Air application that allows you to keep track of the time you spend on projects. It might be useful for quoting jobs or just tracking a work session.

As always, I appreciate feedback on the application if you try it.

Now get to work!

2 Useful Utilities

If you are a windows user who works with images and attachments, then the following utilities may help you streamline your workflow.

First, XnView is a utility for viewing and converting graphic files. It allows you to batch process many images at once,is a big time saver if you are a Photoshop user.

Second, clip path is one of many utilities that can save time navigating to attach files in email programs like gmail, hotmail or yahoo mail. Visit the lifehacker download of the day site for clip path here. There is a great discussion that lists other path copying programs as well so be sure to read the whole page.

Happy Holidays!

Fix Your Gadgets, MAC XP, ipod, etc

If you own a computer and other gadgets, then you have to visit the following sites for cool fix it and mod advice:

1. Mac Fix It (http://macfixit.com/).
   
2. Fix my XP (http://fixmyxp.com/). Also check out their list of freeware too.
3. Finally for more ipod juice and to fix the Ipod check out crunchgear.com
   

That's it for now...
phree

Use File Hippo to get cool utilities

File Hippo is a cool download site that allows you to get updates for quality utilities. You can filter for freeware or non beta items only. If you're into system maintenance (especially for PC), this is the site for you.

Get some Freeware

PC Magazine does an annual roundup of useful freeware. There are lots of goodies in the 2007 list so click here and explore.

Enjoy!

Forget about Forgetting: Hello to File Syncing

It is a fact that your computer will have issues and lose data when you need it the very most. Saying good bye to that data (countless hours of laboring) is never an easy thing to do. It is much easier to say hello to file syncing.


Unison is one example: http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce/unison/ (caution - this program is for people who enjoy command line, Linux style operations)

Syncback Freeware is another: http://www.2brightsparks.com/assets/software/SyncBack_Setup.zip The Syncback downloads page is here and the free version of the software is located at the bottom of the page.

Cheers!

Lookslikematt

Get a lifehack

This one is posted for all students who have too much to do and too little time to do it.

Lifehacker.com is a great resource for anyone who wants to learn about cool new downloads and efficient methods for getting things done (GTD). GTD strategists are obsessed with increasing productivity and eliminating wasted time. Thus, the site always presents interesting tools to help with time management skills and technology tasks.